Refinancing an Expiring Private Facility on a Bronte Investment Property
What to do when a private facility over a Bronte investment property is about to mature. Worked refinance example on Bronte values, for companies, trusts and SMSFs.
If you've got a short-term facility over a Bronte investment property and it matures in the next few months, a refinance is usually straightforward, but it's worth starting the conversation early rather than in the last fortnight, because what decides the outcome isn't your income, it's how much room is left between what the property is worth and what's owed against it, and whether the exit you described at the start still looks like it's going to happen.
Key facts for Bronte (2024), 12 months to September 2026
- Median four-bedroom house: $5.95 million. Three-bedroom: $4.91 million.
- Median two-bedroom apartment: $1.8 million. One-bedroom: $1.055 million.
- 64 house sales, 57 unit sales for the year.
- Four-bedroom houses: about 63 days to sell, clearance 55%. Three-bedroom cleared at 73%.
- Stock is Californian bungalows, Federation and Gothic homes and art deco apartments, 62% owner-occupier.
Can you refinance a private loan that's about to expire?
Usually yes, and it's generally an easier conversation than the original one was, because by then there's a payment history, a valuation only a year or so old, and a clearer view of how the exit is tracking. An expiring facility can usually be taken out and re-termed in one move, to 75% of value on residential security, though it's worth understanding what a private lender looks at before it agrees to take you out, because the exit does most of the deciding.
The part worth being clear about is purpose, because this is business and investment lending only. The borrower has to be a company, a trust with a corporate trustee, an SMSF, or an individual where the loan isn't NCCP-regulated, and the money has to sit behind a business or an investment rather than a home you live in.
A worked Bronte example
Say a trust owns a three-bedroom Bronte investment house worth about $4.91 million with a private first mortgage of $2.6 million maturing in eight weeks, and there's roughly $95,000 of accrued interest, legals and costs to settle at the same time.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Security value (investment house) | $4,910,000 |
| Expiring private first mortgage | $2,600,000 |
| Accrued interest, legals and costs rolled in | $95,000 |
| New first mortgage | $2,695,000 |
| LVR | 54.9% |
| Headroom to a 75% cap | $987,500 |
At 54.9% there's close to a million dollars of room before the cap, so a valuation that comes in under expectation doesn't put the refinance at risk, and that matters more at maturity than it does at the start, because the worst version of this is finding out with three weeks to run that the numbers no longer work and having to sell in a hurry.
The exit is the part we'll want evidenced rather than described. Either the property sells over a proper campaign, or the business behind the trust has enough trading history for a bank to take the whole position out, and if neither of those looks likely inside the term then we'd rather say so now than roll the same facility again in twelve months on a bigger balance.
How long would it take to sell in Bronte?
About 63 days for a four-bedroom house on Domain's figures for the past year, with clearance on those running at 55% against 73% for three-bedroom houses, so what you own matters as much as what the market's doing.
If the exit is a sale, size the term against the slower number rather than the faster one, because Sydney clearance fell to 48% in the June 2026 quarter with a record 29.3% of auctions withdrawn.
What actually settles here
No private mortgage settled against a Bronte property in the 90 days to August 2026, though thirteen settled across the eastern suburbs in that window at a median 75% LVR, and they ran from $146,910 to $7,148,750, which is nearly fifty times apart and tells you these facilities get sized to a particular job rather than written off a product sheet.
Nationally there were 196 in the same 90 days, 82% of them secured by residential property at a median loan of $765,500, and refinancing was the single most common reason at 55, ahead of 42 purchases, 39 working capital lines and 26 for business investment. So taking out an existing facility isn't an unusual thing to be doing, which is worth knowing if your current lender has started talking about extension fees as though you have no alternatives.
What Vía Private lends on
| Loan size | $1m to $20m first mortgage; $500k to $7.5m second mortgage |
| LVR | Up to 75% residential, 70% commercial |
| Term | 6 to 36 months |
| Borrower | Companies, trusts with a corporate trustee, SMSFs, and individuals where the loan is not NCCP-regulated |
| Purpose | Business and investment purposes only |
| Security | Completed residential, commercial or mixed use property in NSW, VIC, QLD and ACT |
What we will not do
We don't do consumer credit regulated by the National Credit Act, so if the security is the home you live in and the borrowing is personal, we're not the right lender and we'll tell you that on the first call. We don't fund construction or development, and we don't lend against vacant land or pre-DA sites. Beyond that, we won't lend where there's no credible exit, and we won't lend against a valuation we haven't tested ourselves.
Questions people ask
Can a private loan on an investment property be refinanced when it expires? Yes. An expiring facility can be repaid by a new first or second mortgage from another lender, with the accrued interest and costs included in the new loan.
What does a lender look at when refinancing an expiring facility? The current value of the security, the total debt against it, and whether the exit is still credible. Conduct on the existing facility helps, but the decision is driven by the security and the repayment plan rather than by serviceability.
How early should I start? Six to eight weeks before maturity, because the valuation, the payout figure from the outgoing lender and the legal work all take time.
How long does it take to sell a house in Bronte? Around 63 days for a four-bedroom house on Domain data for the 12 months to September 2026, with clearance at 55% and three-bedroom houses at 73%. On 64 house sales a year, a specific property can take considerably longer.
What happens if I can't repay at the end of the term? The facility is extended or refinanced and interest keeps accruing on a larger balance. Ask for the rollover fee and the default margin before you sign rather than after.
Getting a Bronte scenario looked at
Most of the scenarios we see come through accredited mortgage brokers, so if you're already working with one, send them this page and they can put it to us. If you'd rather come to us first, email begin@viaprivate.com.au with the property, the amount you need, what it's for and how you plan to repay it.
Nearby: Clovelly · North Bondi · Coogee · Woollahra · South Coogee
Figures are indicative and for illustration only. Median values are Domain suburb data for the 12 months to September 2026. Market commentary is from the Domain House Price Report, June quarter 2026. Settlement counts are from a private lending panel covering 196 mortgages funded nationally in the 90 days to August 2026. Transfer duty is calculated at Revenue NSW 2026-27 rates. Vía Private lends to companies, trusts and SMSFs for business and investment purposes only and does not provide consumer credit regulated by the National Credit Act. This page is general information and does not take your objectives or circumstances into account. Last reviewed 13 September 2026.